Final Audio E2000 Earphone Review

Final Audio is a headphone company based in Japan that has quickly built a name for themselves by making audiophile quality headphones and earphones. Their latest products are the E2000 and E3000 earphones. Each has a unique sound signature and I we have one of the first sets of these earphones in order to give them a full review. The Final Audio E2000 earphone is the first in the series and with a price of $45 I’m curious to find out if this is an amazing new product or just another cheap earphone.

Final Audio E2000 Earphone Review

In The Box

The Final Audio E2000 comes with just 4 items to get you started. Inside the box is the E2000 earphone, 5-sets of eartips, optional ear hooks and a carry bag.

Design / Style / Durability

The E2000 is shares the same design and style as the E3000 with two main exceptions. First, the E2000 housing is a sophisticated and sleek matte-black color whereas the E3000 has a shiny silver finish. The second main physical difference between these two earphones is the E2000 housing is made from aluminum while the E3000 housing is made from stainless steel. Both earphones share the same low-profile cylindrical design that looks odd at first but proves to be a winning design for sound.

The cable in the Final Audio E-series earphones is pretty thin but it does seem like it was designed with thoughtful intent. The 3.5mm L-connector is a smart design because this saves the wires leading up to the connector from getting frayed when it’s connected to a smartphone or player in your pocket or bag.

Overall the Final Audio E2000 earphone is a nice looking earphone. And with 5-sets of eartips you can get a perfect sound seal. Plus the optional ear hooks actually work well in keeping the E2000 in place and tug resistant.

Final Audio E2000 optional ear hooks keep them firmly in place

Features

The main features of the Final Audio E2000 are the 6.4mm dynamic driver and the stainless steel mesh on the back of the earphone. The apertures on the back of the E2000 earphone look at first as if they’re meant to work like an open-back headphone design. But according to Final Audio there is also a special filter designed to minimize sound leakage. This is certainly a unique design. It seems the engineers at Final Audio may have found an interesting design that could possibly perfect the sound of in-ear headphones.

Aging or Burn-In

I found an interesting blurb on the product page regarding the Final Audio E2000. Apparently they recommend 150 to 200 hours of use to get the intended signal output. Final Audio actually goes into detail about this and calls it “Aging”. Most audiophiles know this as “burn in” and it can get pretty controversial. But the research done by the developers at Final Audio have found there to be some truth to it. The main thing to remember here is to just listen to your music in the same way you always listen to it. The “burn-in” will happen naturally. There’s no need to run hundreds of hours of white noise or any other type of test frequencies through it.

Sound

Frequency Response

One thing I’ve noticed about Final Audio is it’s difficult to find a set frequency response in the specifications. At first I found it perplexing but I’ve come to like this about them. To be honest, the frequency response is something you’ll hear anyway and nearly all headphones strive for at least 20Hz to 20kHz based on the hearing range of the human ear. It could be argued that this range is wider but that’s a discussion for another time. The bottom line is there is likely no set standard for some of these specs as the methods and instruments used to measure the results vary.

Sound Signature

The sound signature of the Final Audio E2000 is very different from the E3000 earphone. When sampling many tracks (lossless and compressed) from several different players the results were always the same. The E2000 is a very flat earphone from top to bottom. The overall range seems to be slightly higher on the top end to compared to the E3000 and the sound is a more refined and bright sounding signature. The presence and clarity of the very high frequencies were pristine and alive. And the mids were undeterred by any boost in low end. As for the lower register, the E2000 earphone had no noticeable boost. Overall the Final Audio E2000 earphone is a nice reference style earphone perfect for critical listening as well as jazz and classical genres of music.

Volume Output Levels

The volume output levels of the E2000 earphone was similar to the E3000. I found that both needed to be pushed up a bit higher than normal and could possible use a little bit of amplification in order to get just a little nudge. As with the Final Audio E3000, a small push like the 1.2 volts of the Audioquest Dragonfly Black is all it needs. I normally wouldn’t recommend any kind of additional boost for an earphone like this but it’s possible this unique style of housing lets a bit of the sound breathe out causing SPL do be a little lower than normal. In the end you’ll be the judge of how much push if any this earphone deserves.

Pros

The Final Audio E2000 has plenty of positives. From the discreet and sophisticated aluminum housing to the perfectly flat reference sound similar to a Westone UM-Series IEM. In addition I like the optional ear hooks and the 3.5mm L-connector for safety.

Cons

The only dislike about the E2000 and E3000 is the fixed audio cable. I really do prefer a removable (and replaceable) cable but this wouldn’t stop me from buying an earphone of this quality.

Final Review

In Review the Final Audio E2000 is a nice reference style earphone that truly has a flat frequency response and wide brilliant sound. This earphone has less bass than the E3000 earphone and is geared more to very picky audiophiles that like their sound a certain way. Overall it’s a nice earphone with a very unique design and crystal clear sound. Priced at just $45 you really can’t beat it considering the sound it puts out. Overall I’d say it’s a home run.

For more about the E-series headphones read my detailed review of the Final Audio E3000 earphone.